The before...

Many goings on. Been leaving early for the gym now (6:00 am) and hitting the keyboard when I get home. All over the place with projects. Mom coming in tomorrow for four days, so work will go a bit sideways for a while but there's nothing to be done about it. Tomorrow figures to offer the biggest surprises, what with the boys hanging out here, too. Looking at a day trip down to the old Holy Cross Abby in Canon City. Uncle J's wedding in Denver on Saturday. Maybe a movie on Sunday. If I survive all of that, an early coffee on Monday with G.

New story in from N. Looking forward to reading it.

D's birthday coming up fast. Need to get a package out the door.

 

Current events...

Yeah. Off the grid for a couple of days. Lots of doings. Lots more to come. Saw Oklahoma! earlier this week at the Ent Center, and later in the week caught J.S. playing keyboards at Stargazers with his new band. Last night had young J for a sleepover.

Writing time was scarce most of the week, but maybe that's the way it was supposed to be. Managed to do okay in spite of the crunch, and am still steaming forward.

Stole away for a little fishing time down on the Arkansas yesterday afternoon, and brought home a nice brown. She jumped when I first hooked her and I thought she was a rainbow because of the deep silver flanks, but it turned out otherwise. Didn't have another bite the whole afternoon, so no complaints. Wind aside, it was a good outing.

Mom coming Thursday. Uncle J's wedding on Saturday.

Poetic justice delayed is poetic justice denied...

Woke up to cold this morning. Winter's been so mild, it took me by surprise. Put in some decent time at the keyboard, despite a few minor distractions. Never surprised at how long the creative process can take, but I'll be damned if I've ever seen anything as pathetically lethargic as the academic literary review process. How can a manuscript languish in a system as long as six months? A year? I don't care how many submissions you receive, there's no excuse for it. It's unprofessional. Restrict your submissions and learn how to respond in a timely manner. Jesus.

There is a long list of people in this world who need to be buggy whipped, and/or publicly caned, but they shall remain unnamed for the moment. 

Just marking time...

Struggled with words today, but stayed with it and the effort paid off. Not my best work, but a step forward. 

Went to a movie later, Call Me By Your Name, which after all the hoopla turned out to be something of a serious dud. Tried the gym afterward, but it was late and I was tired and that didn't work either.

Academy Awards tomorrow night.

Looking ahead...

A taste of summer. Temps into the 60s, blue skies, sunshine.

Best day at the keyboard in a while. Didn't set any distance records, but put in some good work nonetheless. Managed to get a little housekeeping out of the way, too. 

Got to the gym late, but made the most of it. Came home, did a little research, made a few plans. We'll see where it all goes.

Alpha jerk...

Winter tried for a comeback, but didn't quite make it. Temps went down and the sun hid out and that was about it. The rest of the day tanked on its own.

A new month rolls in tomorrow. Something to look forward to.

 

 

It's me, right?

So. Another lost post. Or two. Where are these damned things going? 

Long, long, long day. Many comings, goings, doings. Weather was beautiful, spring like, but didn't spend enough time outside to get the full benefit of it.

Need to dig in and get an early start tomorrow. Hit the reset button and try to move forward.

 

Weekend, Day One...

Good day at the keyboard, despite a late start. Jamming hard on the new material. Still a couple of drafts out on stories. Can't quite find the sweet spot between productivity and fatigue at the moment.

Cats have been crazy lately. Coughing up hairballs left and right. Worry about both of them.

Short trip to the gym. A lot of folks around for a Saturday. Got in what I could, then put a bag on it and went home.

Read a nice story, "In that Time," by Richard Bausch today. Enjoyed it quite a bit.

Great expectorations...

Staring at Friday and hardly knowing what to do with it. Goddamn, but it's been a long week.

Still punching away.

Had  dream last night where I was trying out for some sort of job. Donald Trump was the star, naturally, but I was there trying, and finally, it all went south.

Yesterday, young J said he wanted to kiss me. He did, and then, with a devilish smile announced, "I spit on you jacket."

I couldn't stop laughing. His mother was mortified.

Another one in, and on, the books...

Crazy day. Which is strange insofar as much nothing happened. Worked all morning, looked after small stuff the rest of the day. Beat from the all the end of week drama, and looking forward to a couple of unencumbered days of writing.

Enjoying the Guthrie book. It ain't The Big Sky, but it's fun.

Made it this far...

Caught the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre last night at the opening of the ENT Center. Best thing I've seen in years. Absolutely remarkable.

Snow quit today, still the cold lingered. In the twenties all day. Not bad standing in the sun, but when the wind picked up not a whole lot of fun. Guess winter's here. At least for a while. Man, but spring feels a long way off.

Spent the morning revising, the early afternoon running errands, and the late afternoon looking after small stuff. Slept pretty well last night after getting home from the show, but tired just the same. Maybe it's the weather. Or maybe it's the new sinus infection I can't seem to ditch.

Could have used a Starbucks today. Didn't get one.

 

Observations on the here and gone...

Plugging away. Up a little later than usual, but the extra sleep was good. While gathering myself for coffee, I thought I'd lost my iPhone. Scoured the house and office, drove to the gym, came home and found it in my workout gear. Minor setbacks!

Light dusting of snow today. Not enough to write home about, but the temps dipped too and it felt like winter for a change. Read in the paper we're down 30 percent from the average. Not good. Hope we have a long wet spring. Summer, too. Don't want to be looking at anymore wild fires for a while.

 

Screen test...

Woke up late with a sore throat. Late start at the keyboard, too. Tried catching an early movie but it was sold out, so did a little grocery shopping and hit a different movie later in the afternoon. Kind of a get-nothing-done day. Did read a terrific short by Mary Gordon this afternoon, though. "Ugly." That was a high-point. Might catch more of the Olympics tonight, give my head a breather. See if I can't get up early tomorrow and get a better jump on the day.

Stories and story problems...

A "working through" sort of day. Some reading, some writing, some dangerously-counter-productive thinking, and a brief trip to the gym. Didn't quite get around the new story I've had rattling around in my head, but hope to address that shortfall tomorrow.

Was thinking about my dad yesterday. Miss our talks on the phone. He was always funny, always a good sounding board. Best of all, when he was finished saying what he had to say, he'd tell me he loved me and hang up.

Got myself in a bad place yesterday. Math problems. How many times does an old guy travel to his cabin in Wyoming before someone takes away his watch and keys?  

Think it might be nice to go to a movie tomorrow. 

Tomorrow never knows...

Whatever the hell happened to yesterday's post I guess I'll never know. Chalk another one up to technology. Christ.

Back and forth day today. A lot going on. Managed to get in a long overdue phone call to a friend back east, but the rest of the day is something of a blur. 

Don't like to get political here--it's against my journaling policy--but have to say if I hear one more hypocritical SOB in congress say his "thoughts and prayers" go out the victims of a mass shooting I'll puke.

There. Aside aside, it was a fairly nice day. Boys still sick, but got some time with young J on a wagon ride. He looked like the survivor of some ancestral illness lying on his pillow, looking up at the sky. At one point I said, "Look! There's snow on the mountain!" He raised his head and say, "Yeah. Pikes Peak" and then he lay down again.

Weird dreams last night. Family stuff. Maybe it was the new sheets.

 

 

The blink of an eye...

Day whizzed by. Lots of goings on. Wrote, edited, answered emails, looked after small stuff, and got in a quick workout at the gym. All before 4:00. Later, spoke to my sis and took the little one for a walk.

Juiced about the amount of work I've been able to get done this month. Hard to say how much of it is good yet, but the output is up and that's a start.

Watched the Olympics last night. A nice break from the news, for sure. Think I'll do this same this evening, then go to bed early and jump back into the Guthrie book. Gotta get some letters written tomorrow. 

Colds and colder...

Settling in. Cold weather decided to stick around for a while. Snow, too. Had an inversion haze part of the day--Pikes Peak looked more like Mount Fuji than its usual self--but the sky came around to blue before the sun started to set.

Plugged away at the keyboard the better part of the morning, then turned to some research and submission work before heading off to the gym. Feels like things are moving forward, though that's probably wishful thinking as much as anything. Still, I'll take it.

Lot of sick folks hanging around. Glad I decided to get my flu shot early on, but not entirely sure I want to test its potency if I don't have to. Boys are down with the crud, so it's probably only a small matter of time before the defenses fall. We'll see. 

 

 

Unexpected pleasures...

Good day. Spent the morning writing, the afternoon hiking through Mueller State Park. Had hoped to snowshoe, but the ground was patchy and didn't want to grind down the crampons walking on rock. Still, a beautiful day. Sky was blue, the wind was down, and the wildlife showed up right on cue. Walked into a heard of about eight deer a quarter mile from the trailhead. Some were browsing, some were bedded down and determined to stay that way. Gave us a good long look, but never spooked. Pines were still carrying some of last night's snow, little white bolls balanced on the boughs like ornaments. Couldn't help but stop and admire them.

D texted last night with some pics of a nice rainbow he caught in the hills outside Austin. An eighteen incher, thick around the middle. Haven't nailed anything that size out here for a while, the closest coming on the South Platte out of Deckers a couple of years ago. Caught back to back browns on a buckskin in the same stretch of river, but released them both on the spot. Don't hear from the kid very often. Nice when I do. Glad he's been getting outdoors and enjoying himself.